Friday Buffet: Kinect support for 'Skyrim,' a $1300 game and 'The Atlantic' piece gamers will hate

Bethesda

Finally, "Skyrim" players can actually shout back at those dragons. Might want to give the neighbors a heads up before you start yelling in Dovakh.

Finally, "Skyrim" players can actually shout back at those dragons. Might want to give the neighbors a heads up before you start yelling in Dovakh. (Bethesda)

Dave Gilmore

News Roundup

•••• It was a busy week down in Bethesda, with the “Skyrim” developers trademarking the game’s signature “Fus Ro Dah” shout. Crap, now I owe them $17. More pertient to gamers is the announcement that over 200 voice commands will be added via a free Kinect support download for Xbox 360 users later this month. [PCGamer, PCMag]

•••• ... but the National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviews says “Minecraft” is better. [Forbes]

•••• Non-Facebooky Facebook games are coming to the social networking platform via Gaikai. Included in the free-to-try cloud service is “Saints Row: The Third” and “The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings.” [USA Today]

•••• The salivating for the ‘13 cycle of sports games is kicking into full gear. The “NHL 13” cover vote is down to 32, details are surfacing about “NCAA Football 13” and "Madden's" cover vote is down to the final four. You can also now win an “Ultimate Gaming Makeover” including 10 (!) EA Sports titles. If I win can I just ask for “NHL” for the next ten years? [Yahoo!, OperationSports, ESPN]

•••• Capcom is releasing a Japanese version of “Resident Evil 6” that will only cost you $1300. Included: leather jacket. Not included: live baby panda, a PlayStation 4, or anything else you’d expect to get for $1300. [Mashable]

Tweet of the Week

“Tekken director walks into event with two costumed ladies on his arms and hip-hop music playing. THIS IS WHAT IS WRONG W/ THE GAMES INDUSTRY” - @Machkovech

Blowing Off Steam

Taylor Clark wrote a very thorough profile of “Braid” developer Jonathan Blow in the May issue of The Atlantic. If reading an entire article in The Atlantic isn’t something you’d normally do, you can watch a four-minute video to get the gist of what I’m referring to.

The piece has stirred an interesting debate in the gaming community about the state of the industry and the difference between games that are “commercial” (which Blow says are “juvenile, silly, and intellectually lazy”) and “artistic” (which Blow makes). It’s also lead some to take the piece as a giant write-off of the mainstream video game industry.

It’s not a shock to find that something done by The Atlantic on video games wouldn’t be received well. After all, whoever invented the phrase “TL;DR” (too long, didn’t read) was probably a gamer. Although, when a profile starts off with an anecdote about someone you’ve probably never heard of checking their bank account and scoffing at all the zeroes, it’s hard to build a very sympathetic portrait.

What Clark, Blow and some of the article’s detractors seem to all be missing is that there is no need for games, or any entertainment, to be made for everybody. If you’re saying that only thoughtful, subdued games like “Braid” and Blow’s upcoming “The Witness” have merit, then you’re arguing for what would ultimately be an incredibly dull marketplace. If we didn’t have “The Expendables 2” to go see in theaters, we wouldn’t be able to appreciate when something like “The Artist” comes along.

Blow needs “Call of Duty” more than he probably would care to admit, and “Call of Duty” players need a diverse marketplace that varies and intellect and tone more than they probably realize.

Really Important Video

Usually the “important” in this segment is tongue-in-cheek, but a little sincerity and compassion never hurt anyone, right? So this week we’re offering sort of a “Chose Your Own Adventure” system. You can either watch this short documentary, “Caine’s Arcade,” about an adorable little boy who builds his own cardboard arcade...OR you can check out Joel McHale’s Nintendo commercial below and continue to feed the cynical, jaded lump that used to be your heart. Up to you. No biggie.